Finding a Job in the Freethought Movement

Andrew Seidel is one of the attorneys at the Freedom From Religion Foundation and one of my go-to people for advice on legal issues. At the 2012 Secular Student Alliance conference, he gave a great talk on finding jobs in our movement — what you should be doing when you’re in college, what skills employers are looking for, etc.

Turns out good writing and public speaking skills (mixed with tech-savviness) can get you far. That may only be outweighed by an ability to fundraise. Those aren’t the only kinds of positions groups seek, but those are definitely skills to hone up on if you want a job in our (or any similar) movement.

Before his talk, Andrew asked a number of leaders in the freethought community about their hiring decisions — like what skills they looked for and the least desirable candidate traits. He created a document (PDF) putting all that information together.

The best pieces of advice, in my opinion?

Volunteer in the freethought movement even if you aren’t working in it — Nothing shows an employer you are committed than being active even when you are getting paid for it.

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It’s not (just) what you know or who you know. It’s who knows what you know.